Tim Sylvia says he’d knock out Stefan Struve in the first round

With the UFC’s heavyweight division dealing with a recent surge from Strikeforce it turns out there’s a former UFC champion who also wants to get in on things in the form of Tim Sylvia. While he’s publicly lobbied for a second shot in the organization where he held the title on multiple occasions, “The Maine-iac” is now reaching out to fans in hope their voices will be heard by the Zuffa brass. He’s also taking a few of the UFC’s current athletes to task in the process.

“I think I deserve to be there,” said Sylvia in a video he posted on Twitter. “For the people that hate me, I really need you to tell me why. I don’t understand it. If anything I’m basically one of you guys. I wasn’t a college athlete. I wasn’t much of an athlete at all. I had to work my ass off to get to where I am today.”

Sylvia, who is 6-2 since losing to Fedor Emelianenko, also questioned why fighters he feels he’s superior to both in terms of skill and marketability are given an opportunity in the Octagon while he can’t get a sniff. Among the names mentioned is Stefan Struve’s, the 6’11 “Skyscraper” who pounded out Dave Herman last night at UFC on Fuel 1.

Grouping Struve in with Christian Morecraft and now-released Joey Beltran, Sylvia stated, “The list goes on and on. I don’t understand why any of these guys are in the UFC. I think I’d knock them out in the first round.”

The 30-7 Sylvia also added that people who don’t like him should want to see him be proven wrong by getting his ass kicked inside the Octagon.

At 35 and with a birthday in March it seems Sylvia’s time may be running out. However, given his championship-winning history, having slimmed down to the point he can make 265 pounds, and some relative success as of late including wins in his last two fights, stranger things have certainly happened.